Flexible knurler for cigar machines



June 24, 1930.

FLEXIBLE KNURLER FORl CIGAR'MACHINES Filed Mag7 4, 1929 unl i4 T. w. ALM 1,765,817 .n

resp .ly-,v 1 I i Vrevistaa aulne' 24, 193e f iliona YWILHEL-ivi ALM, STEWART-f Manon; ,QEW j YORK, Ass1GNo1zi- To INTER- i rm'rIoNALciGAR MAoHmnnY ooMANY, ii-CORPORATION oFfNEWJEnsEY, s

1 .FLiEB`LEKNUR`LEB EGR met MACHINES appli/adorada May Vi,

`This invention relatesc 4to an improvement in acigar knurling'devicei f Y 1 y :The knurlers heretofore ini coinmercial use have altvaysbeen cu'p'sliaped devices, formed in:` one piece',{adapted to -t yonlycigarjheads and' shoulders Whichare exactly alikefand unyielding` to- Iirreguiar,ities 'of the cigar.

y But cigars do vary'slightly'at-'thehead and y shoulders, and V,knurlers ofithe-old'typeqdo :iis

not yproperly sinooth the Wrapper down on cigars in instances Where there is As'oine'ir-y regularity inthe shape of they head or'shouldei. yThe vmain object-of theAv present invention: is the :production ofv a'knurlingf device vfor Vrotatably Lengaging 'and` yieldingly follo'wvi-ng irregularities of thefhead Vand shoulder of a cigarto smooth itsflwrapperthereon. With this and otherl objectswnot specifically -mentionediin view, thelinvention ,consists in certain constructions and combinations Which Willfbe hereinafter fullyy described" andV then specificallyVK set Aforth in the claims hereunto appended. f f' f f u 1 In the accompanying'.drawings `Which forma part of-thisspeciication andin which likecliaracters of reference indicate .the same orrlikeparts y: Figxl is' azside elevation, partly in section', showing` a ydevice'constructed yin accordance with `the invention; FigsQvis a longitudinal'section ofthe` knurler of Fig; ly

shown on an enlargedscale; Fig.l 3 is' a similar View of a inodiiiedvforiniof knurler'; and Figs; 4 and 5 are viewsfxof the,v conoidal coil showingl its adaptation to lthe shapeof .A the cigar.

,y In'carrying 'the inventionyinto effect, there is provided a cigar knurling device rconiyprisingf a conoidal coil ofl flexible Wire for f rotatably engagingand yieldingly following 'irregularities ofy the headY 'and shoulder of a vcigar, to sino-othfitsi.Wrapper thereon, and

ys'oineuneans, is. provided for producing aV relative rotating movement of the'coil and Athe cigar to beknurled and a'support therefor. In the best constructionscontemplated, a Cigar rtoA be knurled is rsupportedin engagement with vthe coilv and the coilis ro-r tated, and Where certain shapes of cigarsA are 'to be knurled, there'is provided a loose center' piece to engage the head of the 'cigar While ieee.y 'seiiaifia 369,555,

the eonoidal coil'is in action.y Inknurling cigars`- other `than thosev hav1ng"a"ball 'or f roundended v`head, a loose center pieceisl not required because cigars of such otherk forins are not liable to dearrangeni'ent 'of theivvrap- Der :at the eXtreme head fend; f: f The Wrappers of half the -cigars ina Wound on the bunch ina right handed `spiral `While theothery half are Wound spi'rally Viii the opposite directionr' lhisis dueto'tle Vde are vfact" thatr the' material for the Wrappers comes fromV the right and left sides ofthe main steinof the tobacco leaf, and arethe'nr selves right and il'eft handed,- and?? When Wrappers are cut from the'leaves 'they' must be Wound about the cigar bunches'in suchfav inanneras to cause-the small'branch ribsftioy 'lie along 'the bunches.` yFor lthis reason these new flexible knurler's iiiust' alsobe Inade right .and left handed because theyinust revolvem in the direction'r in 'Whichthe Wrapper is Wound on the cigar, and the spiralfof ther coil Atravels when turned from-'the head' toward rtheniid-sec'tion of the cigar. When turning e on a cigar, such aconoidal coil has atendency to open up cireum'ferentially, thereby producing .a `more or less'delicate touch-ae-v *Wire ychosen for the coil. f 'The coil risxmade slightly sinaller than it shouldy beto'exactly ,lit a perfect' `cigar of' a predetermined shape.

knurled. 1The''`irregularities, therefore, -Will beall one'Wayv'andV the flexibility of the -coil f permitsY it to: eXpand'f accordingly. j y

'Referring'to liliggs.A l and 2: Thelnurler shaft 6 is 'journaled 'in the horns "7- of a .bracket Sztvhich is attached to'. the frame of a eigar'niachine notll'shown.. The shaft 6 is rotated by the bevel gear'Q'driven by a y*bevel gear '10 on"y vertical shaft ll, the latter being Journaled 1n the'jbracket Szand'driven i from one 'of the lpower shafts of the cigar machine,inconnection With Whichthel device is use d. One of the horns 7 of'Vtl'i'e*I bracket v 8 isprovided `N vith a stationary bush or sleeve l2 Which lpro] ects beyond vthev horn v and carriesa franie 13 for supporting'acigar'@"to' 10eY Y Y beknurled. its forvvardend theshaft 6 Y Vcommunica-tionwith'the central bore `llof,

the shaft. Fitting loosely iiithis bore is a is provided With; an axial slot: 14^Which is in centerpiece 17 adapted to engage the head yof thev cigar to prevent,1displacement*'fof they v'Wrapper thereon'lat its eXtremejend, and hiavg cured in position byA burring orrivetiiig 'at l2 orknurler proper, is inalde of iiexible vvjire and its apex is permanently secured by'brai'zing. .or ,soldering toan annularslioulder 22 on a collarg2, thelatter Ybeing bored to Yfit ythe shaft v6 and .provided with a set screw 24. for' .-12257 g v Y ,n l

` attachment thereto. The coil 21 is Wound ing'a shank' 16 Yin the bore,15before referred to. The shank'lG'is held inplaceby ineans of a spring 18flyiiig`- in Vtheslot-i141and se'-k points 19. 'Thelshank 16V is provided With Van annular Vchannel '2O into whichl projects the bent end of the sarin0` 18.' Thus encrage.-

. l e i b is inent'of thebent end of 'the spring 18 With, tli'eannular channel'20 prevents longitudinal Y .displacement ofi-the center piece 17, butdoes not necessarily -niake it rotate Withf-the shaft 6. The conoidal coilV 21, which forms Vthe right handed orleft handed, in accordance A'Withl the Wrapper Winding of the Vcigars it is to knurl.V The end rof ythe last turnof the vcoil is'rtapered'olf andl fittedV into a sinall recess`25 formed in the precedingturn, ,so that when oined bywbraizing @or soldering,

Y the `engaging `endzof the `coil present-sv a vsinooth and continuous surface to the Venteringlcigar.` p a Y 'XVhen v4a cigar Yis inserted in this knurler v.so thaityitsvhead engages the center piece 17, `the `latter isheld stationary by the Vfriction `'the irnprovedfknurler. The shaft 6 Vis-the s '.dsaineas invligf. 2:-andr has theV Same, spring lSin itsjaxial slot 14, `but the ycoil 21' in thisV ,caseis permanently attached to the center ofthe cigar'engaging it, and only the coilV 21 :rotates aboutthe cigar.

In/Fig. 3 there is shown la ino'diicationof "piece 17 rhaving1a shank 26.provided with an axial slot 27 engaging the springY 18. The

spring 18 thuslocks the-shank 26to the shaft and bothY Willrevolv'e aboutfthe jinserted cig-ar.Y The collar 23,1in this case, serves nierelyvas a stoprtolhold the sha-ft 6 in `axial position, resistingfthe pressure. of the VVcigar bearing against the fraine 13.

The action of Athecoil in adapting litself 'to varying sliapesofcigars is illustrated in Figs. 4 and. InFigl 4 the cigarwC has entered tfhe coil, only the las-t or outsideturn' ofthe latterv isin engagement Withithe cir-V AVcuiiiference of the cigar, the vendor tip of.

V'vv-h'ich is still sorne distance yfrom the center .piece ofthe coil. By pushingjthe cigarinto -.the.knurler,V as indicated Aby the arroWin Figv.`5, the coil 2l, due to its Vflexibility, is

l shortened axiallyfby vpressing its turns to- VWard Veach lother until the head of the cigar .engaging and yieldingly following irregularities of the'head and shoulder.

-coil,and means for producing `a relative curedto the apex of said coil.

touches the center piece 17 In this positionA I the cigar'head Will then be in. contact'With the knurler over its entire surface,vviththe s y resultthat the lin'ishedcigar presents a ijnuch Vbetter appearance thanV When vfinished With conci-dal coil of lexiblewvire forrr'otatably Y engaging and yieldingly following irregu-` :larities "of the head and shoulder of a cigar .-to sniooth its Wrapper thereon, means ,for supportinga cigar in engagement with said rotating-moveinent of said -coil and' said support. -V l 3. A y'cigar knurlingV device ,comprising a con-oidal coil ofliexible Wire for rotatably engaging andyie-ldinrgly `following irregularities of Ythe'head kand shoulder of' a Vcigar to smooth its 'Wrapper V'thereon,.nieansV for `supporting a cigar engaged by said coil, and

ineaiis vfor rotatingsa'idrcoil.

4. `A cigar knurling device ooniprisinga `conoidal vcoilofflexible A.Wire for rotatably engaging and yieldingly following irregu-y larities Vofthe vheadand shoulder of ar'ci'garn'V to smooth its Wrapper'thereom a shaft for rotating saidcoil, and means for supporting axis offsaid shaft. j y

5. A cigar knurling device ycomprising aV conoidal'coil of liexibile Wire for rotatably engaging and yielding-ly followingirregua cigar Withits axis coincident.WithV the larities Vof the head and shoulder of Va' cigar tosinoo'th its Wrapper thereon, and means for rotating. said coil including a shaftand a member rotating With said'shaft and se- 6.*A cigar knurling device comprisingV a ilo conoidal coil of flexible wire for rotatably engaging: and yieldingly following irregu#r .flarities of thehead and shoulder of ra 'cigar to ysnioothits Wrapper thereon, and Vincansfor rotating said` coil includinga shaft,la collar rotating withY said shaft, and a center piece ffor vengaging the head of a l'cigar in said coil.

In testimony whereof, AI .have sig-ned iny naine to Vthis specification.

y Y ,125 Y 

